U.S. patent number 9,551,989 [Application Number 13/871,825] was granted by the patent office on 2017-01-24 for method and apparatus for extending the operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle.
This patent grant is currently assigned to The Boeing Company. The grantee listed for this patent is The Boeing Company. Invention is credited to David Esteban Campillo, Enrique Juan Casado Magana, David Scarlatti.
United States Patent |
9,551,989 |
Scarlatti , et al. |
January 24, 2017 |
Method and apparatus for extending the operation of an unmanned
aerial vehicle
Abstract
A method of extending the operation of an unmanned aerial
vehicle (UAV) is disclosed. The method comprises detecting that an
energy storage device on board the UAV is depleted below a
threshold level, landing the UAV at a base station, and initiating
operation of the base station to cause a replacement mechanism
thereof to remove the energy storage device on board the UAV from
the UAV and to replace this with another energy storage device.
Inventors: |
Scarlatti; David (Madrid,
ES), Campillo; David Esteban (Madrid, ES),
Casado Magana; Enrique Juan (Madrid, ES) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
The Boeing Company |
Chicago |
IL |
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
The Boeing Company (Chicago,
IL)
|
Family
ID: |
46982499 |
Appl.
No.: |
13/871,825 |
Filed: |
April 26, 2013 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20140129059 A1 |
May 8, 2014 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
May 17, 2012 [EP] |
|
|
12382181 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60L
53/80 (20190201); B64C 39/024 (20130101); G05D
1/00 (20130101); B60L 2200/10 (20130101); Y02T
90/12 (20130101); Y02T 10/7072 (20130101); Y02T
10/70 (20130101); B64C 2201/027 (20130101); B64C
2201/042 (20130101); Y02T 90/14 (20130101); B64C
2201/06 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G05D
1/00 (20060101); B64C 39/02 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Jos; Basil T
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Toler Law Group, P.c.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A method comprising: determining a position of an unmanned
aerial vehicle (UAV) on a landing pad of a base station after the
UAV has landed on the landing pad, the position determined via a
surface sensor coupled to the landing pad; removing an energy
storage device on board the UAV from the UAV using a replacement
mechanism of the base station based on the position; and coupling a
second energy storage device to the UAV using the replacement
mechanism based on the position.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the surface sensor includes a
pressure sensor.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining an
orientation of the UAV on the landing pad via the surface
sensor.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein removing the energy storage
device comprises moving a portion of the replacement mechanism to
the position and rotating the portion of the replacement mechanism
based on the orientation.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein coupling the second energy
storage device comprises rotating the portion of the replacement
mechanism so that the second energy storage device corresponds with
the position and the orientation.
6. The method of claim 1, further comprising taking the second
energy storage device from a charging station with the replacement
mechanism.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the replacement mechanism has a
first energy storage device receptacle and a second energy storage
device receptacle, wherein the first energy storage device
receptacle is configured to couple to the energy storage device,
wherein the second energy storage device receptacle is configured
to couple to the second energy storage device, and further
comprising swapping locations of the first energy storage device
receptacle and the second energy storage device receptacle after
removing the energy storage device.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein a portion of the replacement
mechanism is rotated about a pivot to swap locations of the first
energy storage device receptacle and the second energy storage
device receptacle.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein the replacement mechanism
deposits the energy storage device in a charging station.
10. A non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising
processor-executable instructions, that when executed by a
processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
determining a position of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on a
landing pad of a base station after the UAV has landed on the
landing pad, the position determined via a surface sensor coupled
to the landing pad; initiating a replacement mechanism to remove an
energy storage device on board the UAV from the UAV based on the
position; and initiating the replacement mechanism to couple a
second energy storage device to the UAV using the replacement
mechanism based on the position.
11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 10,
wherein the operations further comprise: receiving a signal from a
command and control station indicating that the energy storage
device is depleted below a threshold level before determining the
position; and initiating the replacement mechanism to retrieve the
second energy storage device from a recharging station in response
to the signal.
12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11,
wherein the command and control station provides commands to the
UAV to land on the landing pad of the base station.
13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11,
wherein the operations further comprise transmitting a second
signal to the command and control station in response to the second
energy storage device being coupled to the UAV, wherein the second
signal indicates that second energy storage device is coupled to
the UAV.
14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11,
wherein the operations further comprise coupling the energy storage
device to the recharging station in response to the UAV taking off
from the landing pad.
15. An apparatus comprising: a landing pad; a surface sensor
coupled to the landing pad; a replacement mechanism coupled to the
landing pad; a processor communicatively coupled to the replacement
mechanism; and a computer readable storage device comprising
processor-executable instructions, that when executed by the
processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
determining a position of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) on the
landing pad after the UAV has landed on the landing pad, the
position determined via the surface sensor; initiating the
replacement mechanism to remove an energy storage device on board
the UAV from the UAV based on the position; and initiating the
replacement mechanism to couple a second energy storage device to
the UAV using the replacement mechanism based on the position.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the surface sensor includes
an optical sensor embedded in a surface of the landing pad.
17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the replacement mechanism
comprises a pivotable section that rotates around a pivot point,
wherein a first end of the pivotable section comprises a first
connector configured to remove the energy storage device, and
wherein a second end of the pivotable section comprises a second
connector configured to couple the second energy storage
device.
18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the operations further
comprise initiating rotation of the pivotable section so that the
second connector is in a location that the first connector was
previously in after the energy storage device is removed.
19. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a recharge
station coupled to the landing pad.
20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the operations further
include initiating the replacement mechanism to insert the energy
storage device into the recharge station.
Description
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the right of priority under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119 to patent application no. EP12382181 filed May 17, 2012,
in the European Patent Office, the disclosure of which is
incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND
This invention relates to a method of extending the operation of an
unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). In other aspects, this invention
relates to a UAV, a base station for a UAV and command-and-control
device for a UAV.
UAVs are increasingly being used in civilian applications. Many
"blue light" services such as the police services and fire-fighting
services now use UAVs for intelligence-gathering operations, such
as to provide real-time video images of locations that are
difficult or dangerous to attend in person. UAVs are often able to
provide such images quickly, conveniently and inexpensively. The
UAVs used in such applications are relatively small compared to
UAVs used, for example, in military strike operations. These
smaller UAVs are often battery powered. This has the advantage of
reducing complexity and cost. An example of such a UAV is the
AR.Drone offered by Parrot.
A problem that exists with such smaller UAVs is that their
operational duration is limited by their batteries. It is typical
for such UAVs to be able to fly for no longer than 15 to 20 minutes
before the battery becomes depleted. This is the principal
limitation on the use of such devices.
Attempts have been made to improve the performance of batteries and
so address this problem. For example, battery lives have been
improved, charging times have been reduced and the energy
consumption of UAVs has also been reduced. Despite these
improvements this problem of limited endurance persists.
There therefore remains a need to address this problem.
SUMMARY
Embodiments of the present invention take a different approach from
that taken previously. Rather than look at improving batteries,
charging times or the power consumption of UAVs, the present
approach is to provide an arrangement for the rapid replacement of
batteries, or other energy storage devices, on UAVs such that
effective operational duration can be extended.
According to a first aspect of this invention, there is provided a
method of extending the operation of an unmanned aerial vehicle
(UAV), the method comprising the steps of detecting that an energy
storage device on board the UAV is depleted below a threshold
level, landing the UAV at a base station, and initiating operation
of a base station to cause a replacement mechanism thereof to
remove the storage device on board the UAV from the UAV and to
replace this with another storage device.
The method may further comprise the step of operating the base
station to detect the position of the UAV relative to the base
station when landed. This may include operating sensors at the base
station to sense the position of the UAV. Sensing the position may
include sensing the orientation of the UAV. Sensing the position
may comprise operating pressure sensors positioned in and/or on a
landing surface of the base station and/or optical sensors
positioned in and/or on and/or around that surface. The surface may
be a launch and recovery pad. Sensing the position may comprise
generating information indicative of the position and/or
orientation of the UAV.
The operation of the base station may comprise the replacement
mechanism operating to take the other storage device from a store
thereof. The operation of the base station may comprise operating
the replacement mechanism using the detected position and/or
orientation of the UAV to move replacement structure of the
replacement mechanism to the UAV to remove the storage device
therefrom. The operation of the base station may comprise operating
the replacement mechanism using the information indicative of the
sensed position and/or orientation of the UAV to move the
replacement structure of the replacement mechanism to the UAV to
couple the other storage device thereto. These steps may occur in
the sequence in with they are recited herein; they may occur in
another sequence.
The other storage device may not be depleted below the threshold.
The store may be a charging station at which storage devices are
replenished with energy such that their store thereof is above the
threshold and such that the store of energy therein is
substantially at a maximum. Each storage device may be a battery, a
super capacitor, and/or a container of fuel.
The method may be carried out as a result of instructions executed
by a processor on the UAV and/or a processor at the base station
and/or a processor at a remote command-and-control device.
According to a second aspect of this invention, there is provided a
UAV, the UAV arranged to carry out one, more or all of the steps of
the method of the first aspect.
According to a third aspect of this invention, there is provided a
command-and-control device arranged to carry out one, more or all
of the steps of the method of the first aspect. The
command-and-control device may comprise computer processing means.
For example, it may comprise a computer such as a portable
computer. Non exhaustive examples of a portable computer comprise a
laptop, a tablet PC and a smartphone.
According to a fourth aspect of this invention, there is provided a
base station arranged to carry out one, more of all of the steps of
the method of the first aspect. The base station may be arranged as
defined hereinabove.
The base station may comprise the replacement mechanism at the base
station to remove the storage device on board the UAV from the UAV
and replace this with another storage device. The base station may
comprise the sensors to sense the position of the UAV. The
replacement mechanism may comprise the replacement structure to
remove the storage device from the UAV. The replacement mechanism
may comprise a robot arm arranged to remove and/or fit storage
device to and/or from the UAV. The base station may comprise the
store of energy storage devices. The base station may comprise the
landing surface.
Features of the first aspect may also be features of each other
aspect.
Operation of the UAV may be controlled as a result of instructions
executed by a processor on the UAV and/or a processor at the remote
command-and-control device. Operation of the base station may be
controlled by a processor at the base station and/or by a processor
at the UAV and/or by a processor at the remote command-and-control
device.
One, more or all steps may happen automatically subsequent to it
being detected that the energy storage device on board the UAV is
depleted below a threshold level
According to a fifth aspect of this invention, there is provided a
record carrier comprising processor-executable instructions to
cause a processor to carry out a method according to the first
aspect.
The record carrier may comprise solid state storage means, such as,
for example, a ROM, EPROM and/or EEPROM. The record carrier may
comprise optical and/or magnetic storage means, such as, for
example, a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and/or magnetic storage disk. The record
carrier may comprise a signal such as an electrical, optical and/or
wireless signal.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the
description provided herein. It should be understood that the
description and specific examples are intended for purposes of
illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the
present disclosure.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Examples of methods and systems in accordance with the teachings of
the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference
to the following drawings.
FIG. 1 shows in schematic form a UAV, a base station and a
command-and-control station.
FIG. 2 shows a flowchart illustrating the method of operation of
the command-and-control station shown in FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 shows a flowchart illustrating the method of operation of
the base station shown in FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 shows in schematic form an overview of a UAV 100, a base
station 200 that includes a charging station 300, and a
command-and-control (C2) station 400.
In this embodiment, the UAV 100 is an existing UAV, such as the
AR.Drone provided by Parrot. It is a battery-powered quad-rotor UAV
that is able to communicate wirelessly with the C2 station 400. The
wireless communication is such that the UAV can receive commands
from the C2 station 400 that control operation of the UAV 100, and
can send information about operation of the UAV 100 to the C2
station 400. The UAV 100 has an energy storage device in the form
of a removable and rechargeable battery 110.
The C2 station 400 is, in this embodiment, a laptop that
communicates wirelessly with the UAV 100 using a radio. The C2
station 400 communicates using WiFi. In other embodiments, other
forms of wireless communication are envisaged.
The base station 200 takes the form of a launch and recovery pad
210 on which the UAV 100 can land and from which it can take off.
The pad 210 is arranged with sensors (not shown) to sense the
position and orientation of the UAV 100 when the UAV 100 is on the
pad 210. In this embodiment, this is done by the provision of
pressure sensors embedded within the pad 210 that are responsive to
the weight of the UAV 100 to produce a signal indicative of the
position of the UAV 210 on the pad. Optical sensors are also
provided on and around the pad 210 to provide a signal indicative
of the position and orientation of the UAV 100 when positioned on
the pad 210. Signals produced by the sensors are fed to a control
unit (not shown) of the base station 200. The control unit includes
a microprocessor and a record of software executable by the
microprocessor to cause it to operate the base station 200 in the
manner described herein. The control unit is operable to ascertain,
from the signals produced by the sensors, the position and
orientation of the UAV 100 on the pad 210.
Also forming part of the base station 200 is a robot arm 220. The
robot arm 220 is arranged to access the UAV 100 wherever the UAV
100 is positioned on the pad 210. In this embodiment, this is
accomplished by the robot arm 220 having wheels 230 that allow the
robot arm, under the control of the control unit, to move over the
pad 210. Movement of the robot arm 220 is further provided for by
it being articulated such that sections of the arm 220 are
pivotable relative to other sections of the arm 220. One such pivot
is shown at 222. A battery replacement section 223 of the arm 220
is provided with two battery engagement portions 224. Each portion
is provided with selectively operable magnetic contacts that are
operable to releasably engage a battery when adjacent to a battery,
such that the battery is grasped by the engagement portion 224 for
lifting, moving and subsequently releasing. In other embodiments,
other forms of engagement, such as a pincer arrangement, are
envisaged. The battery-replacement section 223 is pivotally mounted
adjacent its centre to the remainder of the robot arm 220 such that
the relative positions of each of the two engagement portions 224
can be swapped by rotating the replacement section 223 180 degrees
about its pivot. The purpose of this will become clear.
Again, operation of the robot arm 220, including the
battery-replacement section 223 and the engagement portions 224 is
under the control of the control unit of the base station 200.
The charging station 300 forms part of the base station 200. The
purpose of the charging station 300 is to hold batteries for
charging and to receive depleted batteries from, and make recharged
batteries available to, the robot arm 20. Accordingly, the charging
station 300 is arranged to hold multiple batteries (in this
embodiment five are envisaged) and to charge each one from a
depleted state to a state of maximum charge. The charging station
is positioned within reach of the robot arm 220 such that the robot
arm 220 can deposit for charging at the charging station 300 a
depleted battery that has been removed from the UAV 100 and can
collect from the charging station 300 a recharged battery for
fitting to the UAV 100. The charging station 300 also operates
under the control of the control unit of the base station 200.
The control unit of the base station 200 also has a wireless
communication unit to communicate wirelessly, again in this
embodiment by using WiFi, with the C2 station 400.
The C2 station 400 takes the form of, in this embodiment, a laptop
computer. The computer is able to communicate wirelessly, in the
manner previously described, with each of the control unit of the
base station 200 and the UAV 100. The C2 station 400 runs software
that controls operation of both the UAV 100 and the base station
200. In other embodiments, however, it is envisaged that the base
station 200 may control its own operation in response to the
software running thereon and in response to signals from the UAV
100 and/or detecting that the UAV 100 has landed on the pad
210.
Operation of the various components will now be described with
reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2.
FIG. 2 shows the method of operation 500 of the C2 station 400.
This method 500 is a subroutine that is executed during normal
operation of the UAV 10 under the control of the C2 station 400
when the C2 station detects at a first step 510 that the battery
110 of the UAV is discharged below a threshold value such that it
is determined that the battery 110 should be replaced.
Upon determining at step 510 that the battery 110 should be
replaced, the method 500 proceeds to step 520 at which the C2
station 400 sends a signal to the base station 200 that the robot
arm 220 should retrieve a fully charged battery 120 from the
charging station 300. The method 500 being run by the C2 station
then proceeds to step 530 at which the C2 station 400 controls the
UAV 100 to land on the launch and recovery pad 210 of the base
station 200.
The method 500 being run by the C2 station 400 then waits at step
540 for a signal from the base station 200 that the UAV 100 has
been fitted with the new battery 120 and is ready for takeoff.
In the meantime, the method 600 runs on the base station 200. This
is in the form of software being executed by the control unit of
the base station 200 and is shown in FIG. 3. The method 600 is
initiated at a first step 610 when the base station 200 receives
the signal from the C2 station 400 that the robot arm 220 should
retrieve the fully charged battery 110 from the charging station
300.
Upon receiving this signal, the method 600 running on the base
station 200 proceeds to step 620 at which the control unit of the
base station 200 controls the robot arm to move to the charging
station 300. When the robot arm is at the charging station 300, the
magnetic contacts of the engagement portion 224 that is currently
positioned at the end of the robot arm 220 are operated to pick up
the fully charged battery 120. The robot arm 220 is then operated
to rotate the battery replacement section 223 180 degrees about its
pivot such that the other, empty, engagement portion 224 is at the
end of the arm 220.
The method of the base station 600 then moves on to step 630 at
which the base station detects whether or not the UAV 100 has
landed on the pad 210. This is done by sensing the signals from the
pressure sensors in the pad 210 and the optical sensors in and
around the pad 210. When it is detected that the UAV 100 has landed
on the pad, the signals from the sensors are used at step 640 to
determine the position and orientation of the UAV 100 on the pad
210.
Once this is done, the robot arm 220 is operated at step 650 to
move to the determined position of the UAV 100 and to operate the
currently empty engagement portion 224 that is at the end of the
arm 220 to energise the magnetic contacts and pick up the
discharged battery 110 from the UAV. The battery replacement
section 223 of the robot arm 220 is then rotated 180 degrees about
its pivot to swap the positions of the discharged battery 110 and
the fully charged battery 120. In this way, the fully charged
battery 120 is now positioned adjacent the UAV 100. The fully
charged battery 120 is then dropped into placed in the UAV 100 by
de-energising the magnetic contacts of the relevant battery
engagement portion 224.
The method then proceeds to step 660 at which the robot arm is
moved into a position in which it projects outside and away from
the pad 210 so as not to obstruct take off of the UAV 100. Once
this is done, the base station 200 sends a signal at step 670 to
the C2 station 400 that the batteries 110, 120 have been swapped
and the UAV 100 is ready to resume operation.
The method 600 running on the base station 200 then waits at step
680 until it is detected, by way of the sensors, that the UAV has
left the pad 210. Once it has been determined that the UAV has left
the pad 210 the robot arm 220 is operated to drop off the
discharged battery 110 at the charging station 300 for recharging.
The method 600 then returns to step 610 to wait for another signal
that it should pick up another fully charged battery.
Returning now to the method 500 running on the C2 station, that
method had been waiting at step 540 for a signal that the UAV's
discharged battery 110 had been swapped for a fully charged battery
120 and is ready to resume operation. As mentioned, this signal is
sent from the base station 200 at step 670 of the method running on
the base station 200. Upon receiving this signal, the C2 station
400 proceeds to step 550 at which it controls the UAV 100 to take
off for resumed operation. The subroutine then returns to the first
step 510 to wait for the new battery 120 to become discharged and
run the method again.
In this way, a discharged battery on the UAV is quickly,
conveniently and repeatedly swapped for a fully charged battery,
thereby prolonging the effective operating duration of the UAV 100
to be many times its normal operating duration.
In the foregoing discussion, specific implementations of exemplary
processes have been described, however, it should be understood
that in alternate implementation, certain acts need not be
performed in the order described above. In alternate examples, some
acts may be modified, performed in a different order, or may be
omitted entirely, depending on the circumstances. Moreover, in
various alternate implementations, the acts described may be
implemented by a computer, controller, processor, programmable
device, firmware, or any other suitable device, and may be based on
instructions stored on one or more computer-readable media or
otherwise stored or programmed into such devices (e.g. including
transmitting computer-readable instructions in real time to such
devices). In the context of software, the acts described above may
represent computer instructions that, when executed by one or more
processors, perform the recited operations. In the event that
computer-readable media are used, the computer-readable media can
be any available media that can be accessed by a device to
implement the instructions stored thereon.
While various examples have been described, those skilled in the
art will recognize modifications or variations which might be made
without departing from the present disclosure. The examples
illustrate the various aspects of the disclosure and are not
intended to limit the present disclosure. Therefore, the
description and claims should be interpreted liberally with only
such limitation as is necessary in view of the pertinent prior
art.
* * * * *